Why Choose Grass?

Imaginative garden design introduced a wide variety materials to replace traditional grass lawn. Paving, Gravel and Decking are
attractive, claim to be low maintenance, and can theoretically be used in all weathers, but are they really a
substitute for great British grass?

A lawn looks good, it's easy on the eye, green is after all, reputed to be a restful colour. But there's more to a lawn than appearances.
One square metre of turf can contain over 10,000 individual grass plants, Each one locking up soil nitrates preventing them from entering
watercourses and upsetting the ecological balance. Every single plant is absorbing some of the CO2 responsible for global warming and
re-releasing it into the atmosphere as life-giving oxygen. Every single plant is transpiring, releasing cooling water vapour into the air,
effectively makes the grass acting as a living air conditioning unit. Try it. On a hot summers day, which is the most comfortable to sit on,
paving stones? Or grass?

Scientists tell us that the UK may experience wetter winters as our climate changes. What happens to all that water that lands in your
garden during a deluge? If it lands on a hard surface, it all runs off again, damaging flowerbeds eroding soil,
(carrying your costly gravel with it) thus overloading the sewerage system. Maybe it has nowhere to go and you have a flood.
If you're lucky enough to have a lawn, rainwater will be absorbed and filtered harmlessly down into the water table.

So, the lawn is good for the environment. It's also good for people. Doctors are convinced that patients overlooking an area of soft
landscaping make quicker recoveries than those faced with pavements and buildings. Apparently sportsmen and women receive fewer
injuries when playing on natural grass as opposed to artificial surfaces because it acts as a shock absorber, reducing stress on muscles,
joints and cartilages and as every mother knows, green knees are much less traumatic than grazed knees.

Modern turf grass cultivars are low maintenance compared to their ancestors. A wide range of cultivars with desirable. characteristics
is available and new improved strains are introduced every year. Modern lawnmowers are inexpensive and easy to use. Nowadays
maintaining a lawn is as easy as 1,2,3.

Incorporating a lawn into an imaginative garden design is easy it lends itself to slopes, curves, straight lines, small areas,
large areas - anything!

Turfgrass Statistics

Unusual and not totally uninteresting facts related to turfgrass

Grass plants are 75 - 80% water, by weight.

Up to 90% of the weight of a grass plant is in its roots.

Grass clippings are approximately 90% water, by weight.

1,000 sq. ft. of lawn will generate 200 pounds of clippings annually, one ton of clippings will contribute only 200 pounds of
decayable fibrous matter to a landfill. (Unlike a 200 pound appliance - taking centuries to decay).

Turfgrass Anatomy

Sward. A ground cover of grass which is kept mown and which will stand a reasonable amount of traffic.
Turf has a particularly attractive and hardwearing sward as a result of the interaction between carefully selected grass cultivars,
very special soil type and expert husbandry and maintenance throughout all stages of its development. The seedmix as shown is tailored
to our own requirements and typically contains varying proportions of the following grasses:

Perennial Ryegrass (lolium perenne): frequently used in modem utility lawns, this species of the graminae
family is typically hardwearing, quick to establish and tolerant of heavy soils. Modern varieties are surprisingly fine-leaved
and attractive.

Smooth Stalk Meadow Grass (poa pratensis): Sometimes called Kentucky Bluegrass, this creeping grass produces
rhizomes which allow good recovery from wear and tear as well as an element of drought tolerance.

Red Fescues (festuca rubra): A species widely favoured in lawn production because of their fine leaf texture which contributes
to sward density. Red fescues grow happily in a wide range of soil and environmental conditions. They produce a dense, complex
network of rhizomes which provides the rolled turf with its strength and handling properties.

Thatch:A layer of fibrous organic matter between the sward and the soil layer.
A thin layer (up to l5mm) of thatch is entirely normal in healthy turf. It contains a mixture of living and dead grass stems,
crowns and roots which protect the turfs life systems by reducing surface water evaporation, protecting delicate roots from wear and
tear and, by acting as a sort of shock absorber, it also limits soil compaction.

Soil:Upper layer of earth in which plants grow.
Turf is grown on rich dark organic soils which are virtually stone free. Well drained, yet moisture retentive. This allows the
landscaper to transport, barrow, lift and lay more turf in a day. As well as being an essential source of water and nutrients,
the soil layer in a harvested turf protects the delicate microscopic root hairs from damage, thus giving the newly transplanted
turf the best possible chance of establishment.

The Why's and Wherefores

When creating a lawn the choices seem simple; Turf or seed. Seeding sounds like the cheapest option, Grass seed doesn't cost much,
its easy to obtain and surely you just sprinkle it on the ground and it grows? Well, it's not quite as simple as that. The garden
centre has a wide array of grass seeds on the shelf - but which type of grass will produce a lawn that best suits your garden and your
lifestyle? And yes, seed will grow when you sprinkle it on the ground, but if you want a uniform lawn - you must be sure to prepare
the ground thoroughly, broadcast your seed uniformly and then care for it until it's growing strongly. And the grass seed isn't all
that will grow either - you may also have a magnificent crop of weeds to deal with too - either by hand weeding or by using
expensive chemicals. Oh - and don't forget that no matter how much fertiliser and TLC you apply, a seeded lawn can take
several months before it's strong enough for normal use.

What about turf then? Well, at first glance, it's not cheap to buy but is less expensive than paving and far more convenient.
If you take care when choosing your turf, it will look good straight away and can be used within weeks. There are many UK turf
producers and retailers but their products may not be comparable.

Price is not necessarily an indication of value, for money. Very often, turf at the cheaper end of the market is pasture
turf - agricultural grasses, carefully mown (and fertilised!) by livestock before being harvested and sold. Agricultural
grasses are bred for their nutritional value rather than their aesthetic qualities. True if they can withstand the hooves
of a herd of Friesian cows, they will happily stand up to little Johnny emulating his favourite football player but
rather than mirror the hallowed grounds at Wembley, your lawn will resemble (not surprisingly) a farmers field. The sward
may be uneven and close mowing could stress the plants meaning that they need extra TLC to keep them alive. If however you're
happy to leave your lawn looking a bit more "wild" than the neighbours' or if you are turfing a large area that doesn't need
to be manicured - an orchard or a car-park for example. Meadow turf could be just the thing for you.

Cultivated turf is more expensive than meadow tuft and prices do vary. Phone round, compare prices and ask to see samples
(personal preferences differ) Remember, to ask the size of the individual turves so that you can be sure you are comparing
like for like. Square metres are actually 20% bigger than square yards. Don't forget to ask if VAT is included in the
price and what, if any, delivery costs may be incurred.